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User blog:Derax-Pagani/Coup de Main
March 22nd, X793 Saint Bologna Late morning in Saint Bologna always seemed like a relaxed occasion for its residents. The high street was donned with numerous alfresco cafés and restaurants bustling with patrons having their brunch. Almost all of them were designer affairs that specialised in whatever the latest culinary fad was. Even the places that weren’t designer joints were part of high-end chains that served nothing but the finest of cuisine. Sat outside one of the independent gaffs having a pleasant drink was a young couple; she had yellow blonde hair styled into twin drills either side of her head, he meanwhile had messy dark hair that wasn’t really styled at all. The pair were chatting about her team’s last job that she’d only returned from the previous day. She was a part of a team called Team Puella Magi of the country’s number one mage guild, Vixen Beauty. Her name was Mami Tomoe, an S-Class mage who was considered by many as the most refined and reputable mages in the country. Judging from her posture alone, one could easily recognise her classy upbringing, she sat with both feet firmly on the ground and a rigid back as she held her cup’s saucer above the art deco table whilst she daintily drank her tea; even her pinkie finger was extended as she did so. He on the other hand, was an independent mage. He wasn’t a member of any guild or organisation, he wasn’t particularly well known in comparison with his present company, and nor was he as well educated in table etiquette either. His name was Owen Croswell, a mage affiliated with Vixen Beauty because of his relationship with Mami. He couldn’t join the Vixens, as they were known, because it was an all female guild, something which wasn’t likely to change anytime soon. Whereas Mami was behaving prim and proper, Owen on the other hand had his head propped up on his left fist which in turn was resting on the iron table, all the while his right hand – obscured by the table and way he and Mami were sat – was resting on top of her left thigh, his thumb gently caressing the exposed skin above her stocking and below her skirt. The casual observer wouldn’t have noticed just how intimate the pair was being. Even the dedicated observer would have needed a pair of binoculars to see it properly. Not that either mage was particularly worried about unwanted paparazzi catching a sneaky picture. After the pair were once snapped holding hands whilst on a date, crushing the hearts, dreams and fantasies of millions of Mami’s male fans, they’d developed a robust means of preventing their private life from becoming public knowledge. On one occasion a reporter found himself starring down the barrel of a musket when he made a quip about someone as high society as Mami dating a nobody. Another sleuthing reporter who’d been spying on the pair for a week before attempting to run off had his notebook stolen out of his back pocket by a tendril of yellow ribbon after he’d witnessed the pair share a chaste kiss, before it mysteriously vanished into the void, never to be seen again; much to the sleuth’s dismay. Apparently he’d lost a year’s worth of work when he realised his notebook had just vanished. . Not that Mami or Owen were particularly upset about this revelation. “Owen, that’s enough.” Mami said as she placed her cup back on its saucer. His hand had started moving north, so to say. Begrudgingly he ceased his surprisingly dainty attack on her thigh, putting both hands behind his head as he stretched his entire body out. The blonde vixen would never admit to it in public but she loved what Owen could do with his fingers on her skin, if she hadn’t such a high society reputation to uphold she’d tell anyone to choose the most obscure part of their body they could think of and dare them to not feel utter bliss from Owen’s touch. In between one’s fingers, behind the shoulder blades, oesophagus, hell even knee caps, nowhere was resilient from Owen’s ‘dancing digits’ as she liked to call them. The pair paid for their share as they left the little café. They wondered gently down the high street in the direction of Vixen Beauty’s guild hall hand in hand. Every now and then someone would take a second look at the pair to make sure they weren’t seeing things, as even in Vixen Beauty’s home, it was unusual to see Mami and Owen together in public, or at least; that’s how it seemed. “Are you sure you want to go to the guild Mami? I mean, Lady Tatsumaki isn’t fond of me as it is, there’s no way on this Earth that she’ll be happy to see you and I together.” Owen questioned as the guild came into view. “Don’t worry, Lady Tatsumaki may well be the second of the Four Gods, but she needs me as a part of this guild as much as the guild needs her.” Mami winked as they stopped outside of the guild’s front door. A bronze statue of a vixen proudly guarding her cubs stood in the centre of the courtyard, it was an iconic image across the country that represented the guild’s values; virtue, gravitas, beauty, and companionship. They walked to the statue where they took hold of each other’s arms. The guild master, Lady Tatsumaki, had made it clear that under no uncertain terms could guild members bring men into the guild uninvited or without prior approval, the only exceptions were if the man had a commission for the guild, was a member of the council, or was there for a family bereavement or medical emergency. Other exceptions could be made on a case by case basis, but bringing your boyfriend in for socialising wasn’t one now, nor would it ever be under Lady Tatsumaki’s tenure. Just as Mami was about to reach up to kiss Owen, she noticed he was distracted by the presence of someone. Fearing they’d been caught by Tatsumaki, the blonde mage pulled away out of Owen’s grasp, vigorously shaking her hands in the direction of the person walking toward them. “L-l-l-lady Tatsumaki!? It’s not what it looks like, I swear-” Halfway through her denying apology, Mami realised from the shadow being cast over her and Owen - Lady Tatsumaki wasn’t tall enough to cast a shadow on a teenager, let alone two adults - that it wasn’t her guild master who’d wondered up to them. “Pardon my intrusion, but I would like to request a conversation with you.” The gentleman politely asked. He was a few inches shorter than Owen, but he still towered over Mami, and had similar hair to Owen also in terms of style – or lack-there-of. Unlike Owen though, this man’s hair was a dark auburn colour and he was wearing a perfectly fitting blue suit and frameless glasses. The manner in which he was standing; bolt upright with his arms behind his back gave off the impression that the man was here on business. “Of course sir, if you’d follow me into the guil-” “My apologies bearer of the spirit Mars, but my business is not with you.” The redhead interrupted as politely as possible before he turned his gaze to Owen. “It is with the son of Cyax here.” Hearing this man who neither mage had met before mention the name not only of the spirit residing within Mami, but of Owen’s surrogate parent in the same breath set both mage’s on edge. Mami, using her tertiary magic; Requip: The Rifleman, brought forth one of her silver-plated ornate muskets; taking aim at the unknown man’s face. Owen on the other hand wasn’t quite as dramatic but he still narrowed his eyes at the stranger. “How do you know about Mars and Cyax?” Mami ordered the man to answer, cocking the weapon to emphasise her displeasure. The man was about to answer, but was cut short by Owen, grabbing Mami’s attention. “Mami,” the dark haired man said. “Remember you promised to help Sayaka learn to use the power of her spirit today.” The manner in which Owen reminded his lover seemed more like a direct order in the wording of a suggestion than a reminder. The blonde looked to argue with him but was cut off with a look. “Very well,” Mami relented as she sent her musket back to its pocket dimension. She quickly hugged Owen, whispering into his ear, “If something bad happens to you, I’ll never forgive you Owen.” After breaking away from him, she turned to face the stranger; a black aura pockmarked with yellow surrounded her. “And you.” She directed at the stranger. “Owen might not be a member of Vixen Beauty, but mark my words; if anything happens to him, we will come down on you as if he were one of our own.” “Duly noted, bearer of Mars,” If the man was afraid of Mami, he was doing a brilliant job of hiding it. “Now if you’d follow me please.” Before following the man, Owen pulled Mami into a tight embrace sharing one of their chaste kisses. Breaking away from his girlfriend, the two held hands for as long as they could before they were too far apart. “I’ll see you later sweetheart.” ---- March 22nd, X793 Landown At the same time in the mountainous region of the country, Tyrus, a battle between a team of veterans from the Pendulum Wars that had ended sixteen years ago, and a dark guild was in full swing. A somewhat prominent dark guild had overtaken the border town several months ago as part of an overspill insurgency from the neighbouring country. Said country had yet to recover from the Pendulum Wars and so was struggling with criminality, insurgency and who knew what other issues. Landown itself had been turned into a warzone once again. During the Pendulum Wars it had briefly been occupied by the neighbouring state before the Royal Tyran Army had liberated it in a fierce battle. And once again, Landown was the centre of a fierce battle. “Incoming!!” a gruff voice shouted when its owner had heard a mortar shell being launched. Several of the man’s soldier’s in arms ran in opposite directions away from where they could see the mortar would impact the ground, all the while keeping their heads down behind cover from enemy fire. “This is Delta-One! We’re pinned down by heavy artillery. Requesting fire support, over!” The gruff voiced individual shouted over a telepathic channel. “This is Alpha-One! We’ve got your backs guys!” Came the reply, and with it gunfire started raining down on the enemy mortar crew, courtesy of Alpha-One. Now that Delta was no longer coming under artillery fire, they were able to move up the hill street they’d been pinned down at the bottom of. Once they’d reached the top of the road they were met with divided enemy fire because of Alpha’s earlier intervention. “Baird, Cole, cover us, Dom, you’re with me.” “I got your back Marcus.” The bearded veteran replied to his bandana wearing friend and current superior as a bullet ricocheted off the concrete wall they were using as cover. “Yeah, sure, why wait for Sam and her sniper when you can go and get yourselves killed?” Baird sarcastically remarked before blind firing a burst over the wall. His black companion nudged his firing arm after he brought the weapon back down to his chest. “The Cole Train got your back, baby! WHOO!!” After Cole had given Delta’s position away properly, he proceeded with another burst of fire from his rifle. As he did this, Marcus and Dom headed off to flank the enemy so that - with Alpha-One's help - they’d be trapped in a pincer manoeuvre at the base of a cliff. The pair of veterans moved swiftly through old rundown houses that hadn’t been inhabited since Landown’s capture in the Pendulum Wars. They were each careful to avoid landmine spell circles that the enemy dark guild had left for them, or the military had left behind from the war. Just as they were about to reach a set of ladders to get into their target position, they caught an enemy unit that must have been trying to ambush them get caught in one of the landmine circles. The magic circle detonated in a bright yellow light, evidence it had been a Royal Tyran Army one, before exploding, killing the dark mage who’d stood on it instantly. Blood, body parts and bone scattered about the scene along with smoke and dust. The deceased mage’s comrades were choking on the concrete dust, totally unaware of the exact fate that had befallen the landmine’s victim. Neither remaining dark mages had realised that Dom and Marcus were only a few feet away and could see that they weren’t aware of their surroundings. Dom traced two ceramic throwing knives, opting to take the pair out silently. The olive skinned veteran threw the first knife, the blade of which embedded itself in its target’s left eye, killing him instantly. Just as the second was about to leave his hand, a shout from Cole on the other side of the houses reverberated around the area. “You can’t stop the Train baby!!!” Whilst Cole couldn’t have known that his voice would echo, or that it would put Dom off a particular throw, it hadn’t been particularly helpful as the dark mage looked to his right only to see a knife flash before his eyes, embedding itself in the wall behind him. In that split second he started firing blindly at Dom and Marcus who had to dive into cover. “Cole, shut the fuck up!” Marcus screamed over the telepathic channel as Dom returned fire. “Whoa sorry Marcus, just the Train getting in the zone, baby!” Cole replied in what would just about pass for a sheepish tone of voice. At the same time, the dark mage had decided to try and charge at Dom but was brought to a grizzly end thanks to a twelve-gauge shotgun shell to the face. The power from the shot had taken the man’s head clean off his shoulders, spraying the wall and Dom in a fountain of blood. Bits of grey-matter and skull splattered across the pathway behind where the deceased had met his end, Dom and Marcus even noticed the remains of the man’s nose and eye. The way in how the eye was staring up from the ground made it look as though the man had been buried alive only to have their right eye left untouched to see the sky. If Marcus and Dom had been lesser men, the contents of their stomachs would have joined the medley of body parts scattered along the path. To most people in Tyrus, it would be considered strange to have a mage guild do what they presumed to be a job for the Royal Tyran Army, however: The guild that had been hired had been formed by veterans of the Tyran Army who had fought in the Pendulum Wars. Three of the founders had even been recipients of the country’s highest honour for gallantry, one of whom, as well as another founder, had family who’d been posthumously awarded the same honour; the Embry Star, from which the guild got its name: Gear Embry. All of the founders had fought in the battle where the five Embry Stars had been awarded for; the Battle of Aspho Fields, of which Marcus earned the moniker of ‘the Hero of Aspho Fields,’ along with his Embry Star. Dom and his brother Carlos had also received the medal in the battle; sadly Carlos didn’t get to see it pinned on himself, his brother or his best friend Marcus as he was killed during the battle. After Dom and Marcus had reached their intended position, it had been relatively simple to clear the remaining dark mages out in that quadrant of Landown. Sam Byrne had regrouped with Alpha-One, who had a slight height advantage over the enemy which combined with support fire from Dom and Marcus allowed her to snipe the mortar team that had been on the roof. Once they had cleared that objective, the leader of Alpha-One – Clayton Carmine – re-established a position with Cole. The two gained entry and removed the last dark mages, combining Cole’s Super Armour and High Speed Magic with Carmine’s Takeover: Guardian Soul resulted in short work of the last group of dark mages for that quadrant of Landown. Once the entirety of Alpha and Delta squads had been completely regrouped they’d received their orders from their commanding officer; former Colonel Ezra P. Loomis, a man known as the Hero of Halvo Bay in polite company, a prick in honest company. The former colonel ordered both squads to hold their position until further orders, giving them a chance to make sure their weapons were in full working order and that their magic and stamina reserves were replenished. “I’m getting too old for this shit.” Marcus sighed as he slouched against a crumbling brick wall. “Hey, it could be worse. Loomis could have had us loaded up in the back of a chopper if he’d wanted.” Dom quipped, chucking a water canteen to Marcus, causing his best friend to groan in displeasure at the thought. “He could go jump off a fucking cliff if he had.” Marcus responded after taking a swig from the canteen. After having a drink himself, Dom put the canteen back on his utility belt when he and Marcus heard gunshots setting the pair on alert. Marcus had heard people talking before the gunshots had gone off so he hadn’t paid it any attention until that point. “C’mon Dom, let’s go!” The pair ran in the direction of the gunshots, Marcus was just about able to smell the recently fired weapons which allowed him to trace the gunshots to their origin; a small house just behind the one they had used in the earlier pincer move. Silently the pair entered the house, still careful of landmines as they swept the ground floor. After clearing it, Dom took point up the stairs to lead the search on the top floor. They each saw a closed door which they immediately found suspicious; no door in the whole house had been shut properly so far. Marcus could make out the sound of two heartbeats and two sets of breathing but not much else. He motioned for Dom to kick the door in who duly obliged, taking it off its hinges. They were greeted by Baird and Cole flat out on the floor face first, and a child, stood in the middle of the room. At the sight of two burly, heavily armed men, the kid, who – at five foot six – didn’t even reach either man’s shoulders, raised his hands in the air as he started speaking. “I told them that shooting me wouldn’t do anything, but they wouldn’t listen.” The child cried indignantly. Dom kept his rifle pointed at the child as Marcus checked to see if Baird and Cole were alive. “Don’t worry about them, they’re only asleep.” Judging from their pulses and breathing, the child was right. Whereas everyone the Gear Embry mages had come across so far had been wearing ragged clothing and had been armed to an extent, this kid was the best kept of everyone – the Gear Embry mages included – in the town. He had bright orange hair, piercing blue eyes and was wearing a pale blue v-neck jumper, jeans and white trainers. Realising that the kid wasn’t a threat, both Marcus and Dom lowered their weapons before they started looking around the room. “Kid, start explaining what happened.” Marcus ordered. The redhead looked over his shoulder at the mage before looking back at the door they’d come through. “Don’t worry, the rest of the house is empty by the way,” The kid flippantly replied, knowing that neither soldier-cum-mage had properly searched the first floor. Dom gave a concerned look at Marcus, which the latter returned, giving a silent order for Dom to search the rest of the house. The child put his hands down, turned around to face Marcus with a smug smirk on his face. “Rookie mistake Sergeant. “Or should I say son of Machinedramon?” “How do you know about that?” Marcus demanded to know, aiming his rifle at the child to emphasise. “Oh please, you can’t hurt me: I’m a thought projection. The real me’s at least 3000km away.” The child remarked, folding his hands in his jean pockets. “I told your friends here that all I wanted to do was talk with you and that I was a thought projection – but would they listen? Noooo… Trigger happy dumbasses, the bullet holes are in the wall above the bed by the way-” “Get to the point.” Marcus sneered at the kid, not in the mood for games. The child took his hands out of his pockets, opening out his palms and extended his arms for dramatic effect before he spoke. “Well, if you insist.” ---- March 22nd, X793 Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia “What was that Ice Bastard?!” “You damn well heard Flame Brain!!” As per usual, an argument between Gray Fullbuster and Natsu Dragneel had erupted over a smartarse remark from one about the other. The pair was now butting heads, literally, trying to force the other one back. When they both realised that they neither one of them was getting anywhere they each reared back to throw a right hook at the other. Each fist collided with the opposing jaw, causing both mages’ heads to slam rightward before the force of each punch threw them back from each other. Both mages ended up landing on their backs, Natsu using the momentum as he slid to flip onto his feet before taking a run up to launch an attack, his arms alight with fire. Gray however hadn’t been so quick to his feet, instead opting to use an Ice-Make spell of some kind. Natsu pushed his feet into the ground to launch himself at Gray, his right arm drawn fully back. “Fire Dragon’s-!” “Ice Make-!” The two screamed in tandem. All Natsu could see as he flew through the air was Grey’s half naked form prepping something he’d shatter through. “Iron Fis- Laxus??!!” In an instant Natsu was totally confused by how suddenly Grey was nowhere to be seen and in his place was a completely unaware Laxus stood with his back to the fire dragon slayer. At the shout of his name, Laxus looked over his shoulder to see Natsu flying at him with a fist on fire and a baffled expression. “Natsu…?” The blond man questioned. On instinct though, imbuing his fist with lightning, Laxus slammed an overcut punch into Natsu’s head, causing the pink haired mage to be buried face first in a crater as Laxus roared at him. “Piss off!!” Stood about five feet away from the newly formed crater, Gajeel and an auburn haired man of similar height to Gajeel were watching the whole thing unfold. “Is he normally like that?” The auburn haired individual enquired whilst pointing a questioning finger at the half buried dragon slayer. “This is Salamander on a good day.” “Oh dear…” “Gihi!” Gajeel chuckled, his arms crossed in front of his body as he lent up against a wooden desk. March 22nd, X793 Five minutes earlier Saint Bologna? “Oow, my aching head…” Owen muttered to himself as he slowly sat himself up. His head felt like he had an almighty hangover, but he was well aware that he hadn’t been drunk the previous night. If anything though, he wasn’t even aware of falling asleep. It only then just dawned on him that he hadn’t fallen asleep. He’d been following a redheaded bloke who’d referred to him as ‘the son of Cyax’ and then bam: Nothing. He was only just beginning to take in his surroundings, grey floor tiles spreading out over a vast black space that was somehow lit, when he was disturbed from his thoughts by a very familiar shrill feminine voice. “Oh great, what are you doing here?” ‘Oh good…’ Owen sighed internally when he recognised the voice. “I could ask you the same thing.” The dark haired mage lamented as he stood up. He was greeted with the sight of - what looked like - a girl only just entering puberty with shoulder length curly jade green hair, wearing a black dress. The dress itself was uninspiring with wrist length sleeves and a high collar that only came down to her collar bone. However, it did have one stand out feature; it had four waist high leg-slits that left very little to the imagination. “I don’t know why I’m here. One minute Tatenashi, Molly and I are talking with someone, the next we wake up here in the middle of nowhere!” the green haired girl retorted angrily. “Funny that. So was I.” Owen retorted. “Smartly dressed redhead bloke. You?” “Smartly dressed red-haired woman.” The green haired girl sneered back. Watching the pair was two other female mages; Tatenashi and Molly. Between the two and the green haired girl, Tatenashi was the tallest, followed by Molly and then the green haired girl. Even though Tatenashi was the tallest of the trio, she still only just reached Owen’s shoulders. Tatenashi had pale blue, shoulder length hair that was in stark contrast with her ruby red eyes. She wore claret coloured leggings, black dock boots and a white dress shirt, the top button of which was undone, with a very pale green waist coat over the top of it. As well as this, she held a folded up sensu type fan in her right hand which had a metallic blue guard. Molly, stood to Tatenashi’s left, had very dark red hair. So dark in fact it looked black unless light shined directly on it. Her eyes were a similar shade of red which where emphasised by two tattoo like marks on her cheeks; a five point star on her right cheek bone, and a rectangle on her left – of which the long axis extended from just under her eye down to her jaw line. As well as this, she wore a pair of goggles on her head and had three helix-type metal spike earrings in her left ear. She had a short green halter top which had a yellow stripe running down from the neck to the below her breasts, and emphasised yellow shoulder pads. On her hands she wore a pair of yellow mechanics gloves that were perhaps a size or two too big for her. Her look was completed by a pair of khaki dungarees, of which the apron part was left to dangle in front of her crotch with the suspenders dangling off of her hips. “Uuuuh, Miss Tatenashi?” Molly asked with a tone of voice that was a cross between shaky, scared and sheepish. “Who is that?” the dark haired girl asked, referring to Owen. Before answering, Tatenashi dramatically unfolded her fan in front of her face, covering her mouth and nose. It had the word ‘Question’ scrawled across it. “You’re familiar with Mami Tomoe-chan, no?” Looking slightly bewildered, Molly nodded dumbly to Tatenashi’s question, earning her a cheerful smile from the blue haired girl. “Well, this gentleman is Mami-chan’s boyfriend. Owen Croswell.” “Why are he and Lady Tatsumaki arguing with each other?” Molly questioned whilst pointing at the pair. Tatenashi giggled a bit before answering. “Lady Tatsumaki and Owen-kun have never really gotten on well together. The day Mami-chan brought Owen-kun to the guild to introduce him to everyone; Tatsumaki-san took an instant disliking to him. She believed that Owen-kun would bring down Mami-chan’s personal high standards and with it Vixen Beauty’s reputation. Personally I think such accusations are unfounded. “In comparison with Mami, Owen’s not really one for putting much effort into anything unless he deems it absolutely necessary. Lady Tatsumaki has very high standards for herself and for everyone in the guild as a result. Sometimes we can’t quite meet the Lady’s standards, and whilst it rarely happens, when Mami doesn’t meet her own expectations, or the Lady’s, she acts quite hard on herself: So Owen acts as Mami’s yin to Tatsumaki-san’s yang.” That was something Molly could understand. “Owen’s the shoulder for Mami to cry on that Lady Tatsumaki could never be.” “Oh? Is that a fact Chibi Queen?!” Owen shouted in response to something Tatsumaki had accused him of, knowing that he chibi-moniker would be enough on its own to rile the green haired guild master up. “That’s Lady Tatsumaki to you.” Tatsumaki icily spat in reply. “You and I both know that’ll only happen once you lose the attitude, of which the odds of it snowing in Hell are higher.” The two continued to bicker on, their audience only able to partially keep up. “That Owen guy does know that Lady Tatsumaki is one of the Ten Wizard Saints, right? The second of the Four Gods, at that.” Molly enquired, causing Tatenashi to giggle again. “Oh he does, not even Mami-chan is totally sure how powerful he truly is.” Molly’s mouth gaped at that revelation. From what she knew of Mami, the blonde S-Class mage was well versed in being able to judge people’s power and capabilities. For her not to be sure and Owen readily arguing with one of Tyrus’ most powerful mages; odds for him being insanely strong were looking good. “Between you and me, those two may bicker like children, but behind it they have immense respect for each other. They won’t openly admit it to each other, but they do. If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s taken and the eight year age gap between them, I’d say they were hate flirting.” Tatenashi playfully suggested into Molly's ear, causing the dark redhead to blush at the insinuation. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re implying, Tatenashi.” Molly sputtered out. Embarrassing the Vixen’s new recruit was just a means for Tatenashi to help Molly get used to the guild more than anything. Not that it didn’t entertain her in the process. The blue haired woman then took a moment to observe her surroundings, at first being surprised by the black and grey surroundings, and then by the other people who were around having their own conversations. “Hmm, that’s unusual…” Tatenashi pondered aloud, grabbing the attention of Molly once again. “What’s unusual?” “Oh nothing, I just noticed something strange about the people gathered here. Of the ones I recognise, they’re all dra-” “Fire Dragon’s Iron Fis- Laxus??!!” Tatenashi, Molly, and even Tatsumaki and Owen were distracted by the sudden appearance of a young man appearing to their left screaming, with pink hair, a white scaly scar, black and orange top and white trousers mid air poised to strike a much taller blond man in a purple dress shirt, with his fist on fire. “Natsu…? Piss off!!” It came as quite a surprise to the onlookers when the attacking mage was smashed into the ground by the blond man with a lightning imbued fist. “Laxus? Where’d you come from? I was fighting with Gray then all of a sudden you appeared!” The pink haired man questioned. “How should I know? I was minding my own business then all of a sudden you’re screaming in my ear.” Owen and the Vixen Beauty mages simply watched the pink haired mage get increasingly noisy and the blond one getting more irritated as a result, until everyone had their attention caught by a redhead stood in front of everyone clearing his throat. “Ah, there we go. I think we have everyone here?”Just as the redhead said that, four individuals appeared by where the pink and blond haired men were. Everyone crowded on Owen and Vixen Beauty’s side were stunned speechless to see that one of the four individuals that appeared was a dragon: An honest to goodness, living breathing dragon. “Ok, now everyone’s here.” “I’d like to welcome you all, dragon mages, to Universe N. I am the Archivist of this universe, Alistair Horne. To my right stand the dragon mages of Universe A. To my left, the dragon mages of Universe Z. You have all been brought here, to Universe N, at the request of my master; the father of the gods in this universe: The Avatar. “Throughout the various multi-verses that exist, I have been tasked to find the most powerful dragon mages currently alive. My search led me to you all. Even in my home of Universe F, the dragon mages I believed to be extraordinarily powerful, pale in comparison with you all. “I know not why my master has asked for you, but know that you should be very proud to have been brought here, to the universe considered a utopia amongst the various gods and those in the know throughout the worlds. And with that, I hand over to my master.” Before any of the gathered mages could argue or question Alistair, he simply vanished without a trace. Or at least he appeared to have vanished. The dragon mages didn’t get much chance to work out where the redhead had disappeared to, because their attention was grabbed by a bright light appearing several feet above where Alistair had been. A collection of pink ribbons appeared into existence, surrounding a single orb of yellow light in the centre. The ribbons all wrapped themselves around the orb, creating a 60 foot tall robe in several shades of pink with the most elaborate trim imaginable around the sleeve ends, the neck hole and at the bottom. Looking up the bottom of the robe, from the dragon mages perspective, they could see the orb of light elongate out of the neck hole, creating a head and face. The lower portion of the face was white with a long beard and fu-Manchu moustache, whilst the upper portion was black, showing only three white pupil-less eyes. Atop his head was a furless garment similar to a Janjin Malgai, which was decorated in a manner similar to the robe’s sleeves. A ball of light floated above the top of the hat, and ten rays of light unfurled out around the sides of the robes, almost like stylised wings. “Greetings, dragon mages. I, the Avatar, welcome you to the temple in the sky; Samiya, here above Universe N’s holiest city of Oban.” All of the gathered mages were in awe of the being floating before them. The Avatar was clearly an enormous being, standing at over 65 feet tall, with no discernible body aside from the head – judging from the lack of arms visible from the sleeves – or distinctive magic presence, something the most powerful and intelligent of the gathered mages noticed. “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to Universe N on behalf of my brothers, Universe A’s father of the gods Ankhseram, and Universe Z’s counterpart Verisitrum. “Once every century, Ankhseram and Verisitrum host a tournament amongst their brightest mages, here in Universe N. Each century, they agree on a specific type of mage they wish to see compete. For this iteration, they wish to see their world’s dragon slayer mages battle it out in the Heavenly Shocking Tournament!” Whilst the majority of the gathered mages were totally taken in by the Avatar’s grandeur, there was a handful of mages from each world who held varying levels of scepticism and suspicion of the Avatar’s proclamation. None more so, than the Avatar’s own archivist… ‘Whilst it’s true Ankhseram and Verisitrum held the Heavenly Shocking Tournament to resolve their differences in the past… There hasn’t been one such tournament held in almost a millennium. You haven’t been quite so honest with me, my Lord.’ Alistair thought to himself, having simply relocated himself far behind the gathered mages, perfectly parallel with where he had once been and where the Avatar now floated. The redhead’s train of thought was derailed however by a silver haired man from Universe Z. “Oi, Avatar! If this tournament is supposed to be between dragon slayers, then why are I and Hyoudo here?” The silver haired man rudely asked. The brown haired Issei Hyoudo even followed up with a somewhat emotional outburst. “As much as I hate to admit it, Vali’s right. He and I are takeover mages, not dragon slayers!” “Do not consider yourselves unique, descendants of Albion and Ddraig!” The Avatar boomed, sparks of electricity arcing around his ten light wings as he did so. “Universe A possesses a mage like you both. The daughter of Atarella also utilises the power of takeover to wield her dragon magic!” That seemed to shut the pair up. However, another voice decided to make itself heard. “And what of I, Avatar? Kallen may wield her dragon heritage like one of my clan, but I am no longer in a position to be called the Emerald Dragon Queen, being a Bride of Zeref now.” Atarella spoke up, transforming into her Etherious form as if to prove her point, her yellow eyes glowing as she did. “You may no longer physically be a dragon, Atarella. But you were born a dragon like your mother, and you are still capable of using the power of the emerald dragons, are you not?” “I see,” Atarella conceded, returning to her human form. She had earned a concerned look from her daughter Kallen, who had half expected her to attack the Avatar based off of the irritated tone of voice she had used. Some of Universe Z’s lesser mages were somewhat horrified to learn that this one-eyed and one-armed woman had originally been a dragon before being turned into a demon somehow. Before anyone else could shout out a question, the Avatar began to speak again. “Dragon Mages, those of you who are deemed worthy by I, the Avatar, shall be granted with a power most dragons can only dream of: The power of a Dragon God! This, will be your incentive and reward for impressing me.” “The power of a dragon god? What a pitiable incentive.” The unimpressed mage was none other than Goddess Wing’s Emma Kogami, the Fairy Tail mages, who had recognised her first, were not thrilled to see her here. “I already possess the power of a dragon slayer and a god slayer. Why should I waste my time aspiring for a power I already wield?” There was much whispering amongst the mages of Universe Z, none more curious than the inexperienced Molly. “A mage capable of dragon and god slayer magic, is that even possible Lady Tatsumaki?” “How should I know, I’m not your personal encyclopaedia!” The guild master threw back in her newest recruit’s face rather abrasively, causing young Molly to shrink away from Tatsumaki slightly dejected. She was somewhat reassured though when Tatenashi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and by Owen giving her a much more reasonable and appropriate answer. “I’ve never heard of an example of it, but that Universe A woman seems awfully sure of herself judging by how she’s trying to belittle the Avatar.” Molly didn’t see but Owen finished his sentence off with a scowl directed at Tatsumaki that could easily have been interpreted as ‘that was not on bitch.’ The second of Tyrus’ wizard saints was about to brandish her power at Owen in response to the dirty scowl he’d flashed her with, but was stopped by the Avatar bellowing in anger. “You dare mock the Avatar, daughter of Fafnir?!” The god’s rage was emphasised not just by lightning but by gales and tornados as well. “You will all participate in the tournament! Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of your ability to use magic!” Emma’s pupils shrank to the diameter of pencil lead at that prospect. That was all the incentive she needed now. Not the prospect of losing her magic or gaining any amount of insignificant power boost she didn’t need, but of the opportunity to crush this obstinate god after the tournament was completed. Only the master of Goddess Wing; Morrigan ley Faire could make demands of Emma Kogami. Not even Tetsuo, her husband, could get away completely with making demands of her. “The Archivist will explain to you the rules of the tournament. Do not make me follow through with that promise, Dragon Mages.” The Avatar faded out of existence as his final words echoed out into the nothingness that Samiya seemed to be made up of. Once the Avatar had completely disappeared, Alistair retook centre stage in front of – what the Avatar had implied was – his captive audience. The redhead himself wasn’t too impressed with his boss’s actions; however, it was not up to him to argue against the god’s demands. “Right, now pay attention Dragon Mages. The rules are not the simplest instructions.” Alistair explained to the gathered mages that they would all have to participate in the preliminary rounds to qualify for the knockout stages. The preliminaries consisted of three rounds. Victory in a round equalled one point: ties were worth half a point and losses zero points. Competitors need to score a minimum of two and a half points to advance automatically, whilst those that score greater than one point but less than two and a half must then take part in a play-off game. The number of qualifying spaces in the play-off will be determined by the number of mages that immediately qualify for the knockout stages. “Three mages from each team will not be eligible for the preliminaries. I will not divulge what those reasons are now as they will become apparent as the tournament unfolds. From Universe A, the three who shall not compete in the preliminary rounds are as follows: The plasma dragon, Nippy; the queen of the emerald dragons, Atarella; and the daughter of Atarella, Kallen Kozuki. “For Universe Z, they are: The wielder of the nuclear dragon, Garron Paduk; the descendant of Albion, Vali Lucifer; and the descendant of Ddraig, Issei Hyoudo.”None of the six mages mentioned were particularly thrilled to hear they were essentially barred from participating. Having seen the Avatar’s anger at Emma for speaking up against him though, they didn’t want to see what the Archivist would do as well. “Each round of the preliminaries will see you all competing once per round. Battles will last for ten minutes in a one-on-one format. A victor will be declared if one side is rendered incapable of continuing, be it through knockout or injury. You are not permitted to kill your opponent, maliciously or accidentally! Should you render your opponent deceased, you will be deemed to have refused to take part in the tournament and subsequently forfeit all ability to use magic. “Furthermore, you are only permitted to use your dragon slayer magic. Any other forms of magic you are able to use are banned for the duration of the tournament and any dual element modes you might have acquired in the past are not permitted for use until the Avatar or I announce the repeal of the rule.” Once again, there was much whispering among the Universe Z mages. Almost all of them were confused by what Alistair had meant by a dual element mode. Some were able to rationalise that if no one on their side knew what a dual element mode was, then at least one of their opponents must have one. “Those of you concerned about accelerating your draconification, worry not. For the duration of your stay here, the effects of your transformation have been undone, and upon return to your home world you will not suffer any acceleration from your dragon slayer usage here.” Alice and Undine, who had stood near each other for the duration of the welcome, both looked at each other in total surprise at this revelation. Neither wasted anytime to see if Alistair’s words held any truth, partially slipping one of the gloves they wore off. Whilst Undine was surprised to see her naked hand devoid of any dragon scales, Alice was positively choking up. The storm dragon slayer struggled to remember the last time she had seen her hand in human flesh and not in black dragon scales. If anything, it seemed surreal to her. “Finally, you are forbidden from fraternising with mages from the opposite team until the second preliminary round has concluded. As you all shall be residing in the city of Oban below us between days, the locals will ensure you comply with this regulation. Once it is lifted, it is entirely your choice whether you decide to get to know your opponents or not. “Now that the formalities are over, I shall impart the first bit of good news you’ve probably heard today. You may all make individual requests to me for a spectator, or group thereof, who you wish to see the tournament and enjoy the festivities with. You have the next thirty minutes to decide if and who you wish to join us. Bear in mind though, that whoever you request shall be bound by the same rule as you competitors with regards to fraternising also; any questions?" “Are we able to request for a spectator who is no longer living?” enquired a man with shaggy blond hair from Universe Z. He had dark circles under his bright blue eyes, purple lips and a black ring tattoo around his neck that was broken up by separate circles on his carotid artery. Many mages couldn’t see, but Alistair was able to see the surgical scars across the man’s torso that connected to a patch of metal that made up his left pectoral and abdomen. The man’s question piqued the interest of a teammate of his also; a tall blonde, grey eyed woman, dressed in a black faux-fur lined coat, black trousers and black shoes. “I must apologise, neither the Avatar nor I are capable of bringing a resident of death’s kingdom back to life. However, as I understand your circumstances Faust, if you request to have your guild witness the competition, I will make a personal request to Mikihisa Asakura to assist with your wish.” Initially Faust seemed disheartened by the Archivist’s answered, but at the prospect of Alistair going out of his way to help by asking Faust’s guildmate, Mikihisa of the Spirit Gate, to fulfill his request, the blond man’s eyes lit up in appreciation. “What about those of us who were out doing jobs?” asked the gruff voiced Marcus Fenix, still in his bloodied body armour from Landown. The Archivist looked at him as if it was a silly question. “Don’t worry about your commission or guilds; I’ve dealt with them…” Gear Embry Forward Operating Base, Landown Universe Z “Delta from Control, do you read me? Come in.” Col. Ezra Loomis attempted for the umpteenth time. His patience was wearing exceedingly thin. Something not lost on the former Onyx Guards who made up Loomis’ squad within Embry Star; Onyx Squad. “Alpha! Delta! Fenix! Anyone come in! Damn it.” He had no idea how two of his most powerful teams outside of the ex-Onyx Guards could have just up and disappeared. “Have you lost someone?” Ezra was shocked to hear such a young voice behind him. He turned to be greeted by the same child that Marcus and Dom had found in the house earlier, not that Ezra was aware of that. “Identify yourself.” Loomis demanded, charging his right hand up with his unique Lightmass Magic. “Oh, I’m no one. Might as well drop the magic Loomis, I’m a thought projection.” “Let’s see if that logic holds up,” Loomis retorted, firing a blast of his magic at the child like thought projection. The thought projection simply swatted the blast of lightmass away from him, causing the blast to crash into a cliff face, resulting in a colossal rock fall. The Onyx Guardsmen flanking Loomis took a step back away from the former colonel. “You done throwing a hissy fit?” the child smirked.“Delta and Alpha are safe. They’re with me. You won’t have to worry about them for about a week.” “Excuse me? You have no right to apprehend my men. As the Royal Tyran Army’s named commander of this operation, I demand the return of my men!” The boy simply tilted his head in response, as if he was confused by the demand. “Oh yeah, you’re out here to get rid of a dark guild. Let me help with that.” The group of people were stood atop a ledge half a kilometre away that overlooked Landown. From the vantage point, they could see an opposing castle structure nestled within the mountains that made up the final area of Landown needing liberated. According to the intelligence reports that Gear Embry had been given by the Royal Army stated that the castle district would likely house the dark guild’s master and top members. It was for that reason that Loomis had opted to attack the castle district last, which was why he needed all of the partaking squads. Especially ones as skilled as Delta and Alpha. “Sorry, but I’ll take my men back over the help of-” Loomis was cut off by the child’s arm morphing into a black metal, swordfish shaped appendage. The ‘sword’ separated revealing a glowing crimson cannon barrel that arced with electric sparks. The two Onyx Guardsmen that were flanking Loomis’ left had to duck as a beam of crimson and navy fired straight over their heads, passing inches by Loomis’s head. The beam barrelled into the castle structure three kilometres away from the child, leading to a colossal explosion and shockwave. “a child…” The child tilted his head over to his left as if he was trying to get a better look at the damage he’d caused. “Don’t worry about the reward or recognition, I don’t need either, you can tell the council you did all the work. Delta and Alpha squads will be back in a week, give or take.” The child turned on his heel and started walking away. “Am I supposed to take that as a guarantee that my men will return safely?” “You’re supposed to take it as a guarantee they’ll come back.” Loomis didn’t have a chance to probe any further as the child-like thought projection walked away disappearing out of existence. Samiya, above Oban Universe N “Are there any other questions?” When Alistair was met with silence from the competitors, he simply stated. "Very well, thirty minutes, off you go." ---- It came as no great surprise that Faust was the first one to go up to the Archivist to make his request. He wasn’t up there very long from the looks of it. When the blond dragon slayer had finished requesting for his guild to spectate the tournament, and vigorously thanked Alistair for trying to help him out, he was teleported down to the city below. Alistair was sort of expecting to have a quick break after dealing with Faust, but was met with no such luck when he was approached by the pale blue haired psychopath, Emma Kogami. “That was fast, after your little outburst earlier I wasn’t expecting you to make a request.” The redheaded archivist smirked. “It wouldn’t be an issue for me to gut you like a fish right now, however I’d like for my dear daughter and husband to witness me in action.” Emma retorted confidently. “I’d also like for Lady Morrigan to spectate these festivities.” Alistair’s eyes narrowed at the Ice Dragon Slayer’s second request. “Of everyone in your guild, all of whom can be free from being designated dark mages for a week for the first time in years, and you choose her?” “I feel it will be beneficial to all of us on our team to have someone as powerful and knowledgeable as Lady Morrigan supporting us.” “Far be it from me to influence your decision…” Alistair sighed in defeat. He shouldn’t have been too surprised though; Emma had only two loyalties in her life; Tetsuo and Morrigan. She couldn’t have cared less about anyone else mostly. “Very well, it will be done.” The redhead began to teleport the Goddess Wing mage down to her lodgings in the city below, when he started talking again. “Oh, Kogami: Threaten me like that again, I’ll make sure I’m wearing your ovaries as a hat by the time I’m done.” Emma winked at him before she completely vanished. “Good luck with that.” Alistair simply sighed in frustration. “That’s going to be fun to sort out…” ---- Over by Universe A’s team, it hadn’t escaped Alice’s attention that Emma had made her request and subsequently left, however, she was perfectly content for the time being having the rest of her universe’s dragon slayers gathered. “Ok, who definitely knows who they want to see them in this tournament?” Lelouch asked the entire group. “I definitely want Fairy Tail to watch me! Hope these Universe Z guys are strong.” Natsu shouted triumphantly. “Yeah, watch you being overshadowed by me, gihi!” Gajeel quipped, leading to a fight between the fire and iron dragon slayers, causing the others around them to move out of the way. “Gino, I don’t suppose you can relocate those two away from us, could you?” Nessa politely requested, sidestepping a roar of flame as she did so. “Well since you asked so nicely-” Gino had to duck his head underneath an iron pole that would have decked him in the face otherwise. “Ok, new plan: splitting these two up.” Using his dragon slayer magic, he warped Natsu far away behind Nessa, and Gajeel far away behind Laxus. “Getting back on track, it’ll come as no surprise that I’d like for Nunnally and Erza to watch this tournament.” Lelouch stated matter-of-factly, this lead to a verbal melee of who wanted who to watch them. The only one to make a decision and act on it was God Serena. “I’m sorry one and all, but there is no one I wish to see spectate this marvel, so I shall bid you all adieu.” The number one wizard saint then went to take his leave. With God Serena leaving the group, it had acted as a means of silencing the group for a few minutes before Undine spoke up. “Here’s an idea; why don’t we have the teams that participated in the Grand Magic Games in X791 spectate?” “With the exception of Philosopher’s Stone, I like it.” Lelouch quickly added in. Everyone was in agreement that they didn’t want V.V.’s guild anywhere near this tournament. “Instead, why don’t we ask for Blue Pegasus?” “Sounds like a plan.” “I like it.” “Let’s do it.” ---- With Universe A successfully choosing their spectators, it wasn’t lost on some of the Universe Z team members that they had one disadvantage in this tournament; all of Universe A seemed to know each other. The same could not be said for them. Everyone in Universe Z seemed to be sticking to their own cliques and weren’t willing to branch out and speak to each other. “Hmph, I don’t care if you want the guild spectating us, I want as few of our members away whilst Tatenashi and I are here!” Tatsumaki argued with Molly. Molly had said that she wanted her new guild to be their spectators just as a means for them to get to recognise and learn about her. Tatsumaki however, wasn’t quite so forthcoming. “C’mon Chibi, even if you request to not have the other Vixens spectate, I can just go and request for them instead.” Owen counteracted. “If you do, who’s going to ensure the safety of the guild?” “Let Fubuki do it, you know better than anyone how desperate she is to be guild master.” “Owen-kun, whilst I agree with you on wanting the guild to watch us, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have Fubuki-chan in charge whilst everyone else is out.” Tatenashi intervened. All this talk of ‘Fubuki’ was confusing Molly. “Um, excuse me, but who’s Fubuki?” “Fubuki-chan is Lady Tatsumaki’s younger sister-” “Who happens to look like the older of the two,” Owen quipped, earning him a bash over the head from Tatsumaki, before Tatenashi picked off from where she’d been interrupted. “Lady Tatsumaki is incredibly protective and loving of Fubuki-chan, however, the same cannot be said about Fubuki… Whereas Lady Tatsumaki is well aware of her power and limits, Fubuki… isn’t. She’s very over confident in her abilities, believing herself to be ready for SS-Class jobs and even some of the recent ten-year jobs. The opposite couldn’t be truer though.” “As much as I love my sister, she can be a total pain. Like Tatenashi says, Fubuki believes she’s more than ready for S-Class promotion, in reality though, she’s a high B-Class/mediocre A-Class at best. She also resents me for her not being taken on as a dragon slayer, thinking I convinced my dragon parent to not take her on.” “So if that’s not the case, then why didn’t your dragon parent take her on?” Molly enquired, trying to understand some of the more delicate complexities of her new guild. “I wanted Fubuki to become a dragon slayer like me, but my dragon parent Palkia told me that her body was far too frail to learn our element of magic. If she’d tried, it would likely have crushed her into obscurity. Or at least that’s what Palkia told me at the time.” Hearing just how dangerous Tatsumaki’s dragon slayer element was, made Molly gulp at the prospect of witnessing it in action. Just the thoughts of what it could be were terrifying Molly. Fortunately though, she was distracted from her thoughts by a stranger joining into their conversation. The stranger was a tall man, roughly the height of Owen give or take, with fair skin and shaggy blond hair. He was wearing black denim jeans and a white shirt with the collar up. Tatsumaki was the first to acknowledge the stranger. “Genos,” “Tatsumaki,” “Do you two know each other?” Molly asked. “He’s the newest of the Wizard Saints, at number seven, Genos of Wyvern Roar.” Tatsumaki answered almost flippantly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?” Genos extended his hand out to shake Molly’s. “Molly, Molly Wei. It’s nice to meet you- Whoa! What happened to your hands?!” Just as Molly was about to shake hands with Genos, she noticed that both his hands and arms were completely made of metal. She also only just noticed that instead of the white’s of his eyes actually being white where instead jet black. “I-” “He cut himself shaving!” Owen joked, cutting Genos off before he could explain properly. “Owen, that joke was not funny the first time you told it. It hasn’t improved.” Genos flatly stated, having totally missed the point of the joke. “I lost both of my arms and legs as a child for not listening to my dragon parent. Toba was adamant that I was unready to swim in lava, but I was confident that I was. I’ve lived with the consequences of my overconfidence ever since. “Thanks to a lava bubble bursting in my face during the incident, I lost both of my eyes too. What you see now are magically enhanced prosthetic limbs and artificial eyes.” Molly was in total awe of Genos now, mechanical eyes, arms, hands and legs? She was somewhat smitten with the quad-amputee, or with his prosthetics, one or the other. She was brought out of her stupor by Tatenashi bonking her over the head with her folded up fan, Molly hadn’t realised she’d been starring at Genos. “Pardon my intrusion though, I overheard you all discussing who to request come watch us. I may have a suggestion that keeps all parties happy.” “I’m listening.” Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes at her fellow Wizard Saint. “Rather than request for the entirety of Vixen Beauty to spectate, why not request for Tatenashi-san’s team, Team Stratos was it? And for the team whose de facto leader is dating Owen-san?” “Team Puella Magi?” Owen suggested. “That’s the one. So that way, the people most affiliated with you all are here, and one of the guild’s other S-Class mages is left in charge rather than Fubuki-san.” “Hmph! I’d rather leave Mami in charge than have her here being corrupted by the ogre, but if it’s the only way to keep you three happy, I suppose I’ll go along with it. Let Kongo Shimazaki take over my duties as Master for the time being.” Tatsumaki indignantly remarked. Of course, having the green-haired guild master give the ok to Genos’s idea put a smile on the other three mages faces. It then dawned on Owen that the emerald haired guild master had indirectly called him an ogre. “That was cruel and unkind, short arse…” “Alright! Let’s go tell the Archivist!” Molly triumphantly declared, leaping with a fist in the air. ---- Midnight March 23rd, X793 Samiya’s Study, above Oban Late into the evening, the entirety of the competitors had called it a night in the accommodation that had been provided. High up in the floating temple Samiya, neither the Avatar nor the Archivist were asleep. Alistair was on his way down to the study, the typical hobble of the Avatar, to confront the god about the day’s events. Entering into the study, Alistair saw the silhouette of the Avatar sat at a desk facing a window looking out over the clouds. Unlike earlier in the day where the Avatar had appeared to be well over 60 foot tall, possessing three eyes and had no hands, right now, he was sat in a simple desk chair, a cane-cum-staff resting against the desk. Had he been stood on his feet, the Avatar would only stand at 4 foot 11 inches tall. He had his back to where Alistair was now stood, having just entered the study. “My lord, the requested spectators have been gathered.” “Ah very good Alistair, I don’t know what I’d do without you around.” The Avatar heartily laughed. There was an awkward silence after the Avatar’s laughter ceased. “My lord, why did you lie to me? Some of the contestants are now suspicious about the entire tournament, and I must say I am equally suspicious.” “My boy, I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re implying-” “The Heavenly Shocking Tournament hasn’t been held for a millennium.” Once again silence permeated throughout the temple, only broken by the odd drop of water seeping through the ancient stonework. “Whilst the only contestants that might be capable of properly feeling a god’s magic power are the holder of the Hybrid Theory, and the daughter of Fafnir thanks to their constant close proximity to Emperor Spriggan and Morrigan ley Faire respectively, neither are truly capable of discerning multiple gods. “I on the other hand can. And I know for a fact that neither Ankhseram nor Verisitrum are here, in Universe N, because the only god currently present; is you, Lord Satis.” Alistair’s pointed tone of voice reverberated throughout the study. The Avatar, Satis, dispelled his chair and desk whilst taking a hold of his cane. The miniature deity looked out of the window wistfully as he spoke, choosing his words carefully. “You are right about Ankhseram and Verisitrum, young Alistair. However, you’re only half right, about the number of gods here. I am not the only god present on Samiya… There is a second god, residing within this temple. One, which I will never allow to be free again…” Category:Blog posts Category:Spoiler